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VideosJeff praises his dogs |
What's new with Jeff DeeterMarch 4, 9:30 a.m., Rainy PassJeff arrived at 11:35 p.m. after a 4 hour 23 minute jaunt through the darkness from Finger Lake. He averaged 6.84 mph, and he still has all 16 dogs. He's in 72nd place. Descending from Rainy Pass, the team will be tested today by the Dalzell Gorge, which is famous for being icy and treacherous. Jeff was smart to wait until daylight. March 4, 12:05 a.m., beyond Finger LakeJeff arrived in Finger Lake at 1:12 p.m. Monday with 16 dogs. He averaged 7.89 mph on the 5 hour 42 minute trip from Skwentna. Jeff left Finger Lake at 7:12 p.m. after a six-hour rest. He's holding to his strategy of resting his dogs as much as he runs them. All 16 are still on the team. His next stop will be in a few hours at Rainy Pass. After that, he's on to Rohn. Here's a video of Jeff talking about his huskies before the restart Sunday at Willow. Video: Jeff talks about his dog team and why they work so well together. March 3, 10 a.m., SkwentnaJeff pulled into Skwentna checkpoint at 3:18 this morning, concluding a 3 hour 25 minute run from Yentna. He's in 72nd place. He rested for his expected four hours (actually, 4 hours 12 minutes) and took off for Finger Lake at 7:30 a.m. He still has all 16 dogs, letting him keep a pace of almost 10 mph. March 2, 10 p.m., YentnaJeff checked into Yentna at 7:58 p.m., having covered the distance in 4 hours 22 minutes at an average speed of 9.62 mph. He's in 58th place (started 50th), but at this point in the race such standings rarely have much value. Next stop: Swentna, another river outpost. Video: Before leaving Willow, Jeff explains his strategy for the first few days on the trail. March 2, 8 p.m., WillowJeff set off just before 4 p.m. for Yentna, the first checkpoint on the Iditarod Trail. He is pulled by 16 energetic dogs.
It was a beautiful afternoon on Willow Lake, with a temperature in the mid-20s and high clouds. Snowmachines whined and growled back and forth across the lake, although the trail route -- lined by thousands of fans on each side -- was blocked off by orange fence. Jeff arrived early at Willow with his friend Isaac Mackey's pickup pulling the trailer. His dogs were checked by the Iditarod staff, then they went back in their boxes.
His sled bad was made to his specifications by his aunt, a fine seamstress. Jeff figured that his sled and goods total about 200 pounds, and he adds 150. 
Photo: Jeff puts on layers of clothing. Finally it was time to dress for the race. Jeff put on his mushing clothes. He donned a T-shirt, then a fleece shirt, a sweatshirt, an insulated jacket, another coat and finally his parka. It wasn't surprising to later hear him tell mushing mentor Frank Sihler, "I'm hot." But as Jeff is pulled tonight at 12 mph by his huskies and the temperature drops, he'll be glad to be toasty inside his coat and mittens that come nearly to his elbows. (When Jeff ran the Copper Basin 300 in eastern Alaska earlier in the year, said dad Eric Dieter, the temperature was around minus -60. The Iditarod isn't expected to be as cold, however.) 
Photo: Clarence, the white dog, and Frank Sihler lead the team toward the starting chute. The handlers, led by Jeff's uncle Allen and then by Frank, marshaled the dogs from the far end of the mushers enclosure to the starting chute. As the announcer provided a quick description of Jeff's mushing history (including two Junior Iditarods), Jeff got a quick round of hugs from his girlfriend and parents. He walked to the front of the team to talk to his dogs, then returned to the sled and, when the two-minute countdown ended, sped off through the cheering gauntlet. 
Photo: "It's my daughter's sign," said a fan, but she was glad to show off the poster. Jeff planned to mush for several hours and rest for several hours, taking good care of his dogs. He's not necessarily in this race to win, but to complete the challenge with his friends. He grew up with the Iditarod in his head, and he trained himself and his dogs for this race. He's doing at age 19 what a lot of men and women dream for decades of doing. When Jeff and his team pulled out from the starting line, he was grinning. 
Photo: Jeff and his team head for Yentna, Skwentna and Nome. March 2, 3 p.m., WillowJeff's Iditarider, Mary Ann McClure, who bid for a ride on Jeff's sled during the ceremonial leg Saturday in Anchorage, arrived at the restart Sunday with a poster signed by the students she works with in West Virginia. We have a photo of the poster, held up by Mrs. McClure and Mr. McClure. 
Mrs. McClure also wanted to say a few words to her class: Video: Mrs. McClure tells the students at Milton Elementary School about her trip to the Iditarod. March 2, Willow
Jeff will have 16 dogs in harness, but he'll have more in his trailer. Mushers often take a couple of extra dogs to the restart, just in case one of the top dogs has a problem and must be replaced. Mushers park in a big enclosure on the lake several hours before the first musher takes off at 2 p.m. They load their sled, then repack it and maybe take a nap after feeding the dogs. They talk with their friends and attend to such details as having their dogs' microchips checked by roving Iditarod workers. The dogs may go back in the trailer for a while. Finally, it'll be time to hitch the dogs to the long lead. The musher takes one dog at a time to the harness and clips it in. Sensing the excitement, the dogs bark and jump; they're ready to go. The musher accepts a last round of good wishes and hugs, and the lead handler walks the team to the starting chute. After a short countdown by the announcer, the musher heads off into the wild. March 1, Anchorage
Photo: Jeff Deeter and Mary Ann McClure take off down Fourth Avenue.
Jeff's Iditarider, Mary Ann McClure of Hurricane, W.Va., enjoyed her ride. Before it started, she said many good things about the class she volunteers with back home and how excited she was to help the students learn about the Iditarod. She said she became interested in mushing after hearing Alaska hero Libby Riddles speak aboard a cruise liner. She bid on a ride in Jeff's sled because he was one of the youngest mushers and she wanted someone her students could relate to. Frank Sihler, who started the Iditarod last year with many of the dogs Jeff is using, rode the trailing sled behind Jeff. The extra sled slows the team down for the trip through town. It won't be used for the real Iditarod. Video: Colt and U2 catch the excitement as they wait to be attached to the gangline of Jeff's sled. Nina Schwinghammer sewed neckwarmers -- made of red fleece with dark pawprints -- for the team's dog handlers. In the 18-degree, windy gulches of downtown Anchorage, the warmers came in handy. As Jeff's girlfriend and fellow musher, she had the honor of riding with Jeff on the sled to the starting line. 
Photo: Nina Schwinghammer, Jeff Deeter, Eric Deeter, Gretchen Diemer and Frank Sihler. 
Photo: Mary Ann McClure sits pretty as the team pulls Jeff's sled down Fourth Avenue. March 1, AnchorageToday's the big day for showing off the team. Jeff will make the ceremonial start of the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race this morning in Anchorage and carry his Iditarider to the Campbell Airstrip, which is several miles south and east of downtown. His start time will be about 11:40 a.m. Feb. 29, AnchorageJeff drew bib No. 50 at the mushers banquet Thursday night, meaning that he'll start the Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race in the middle of the pack. Mushers leave the starting chute every two minutes, in bib order. Look for Jeff to leave about 11:40 a.m. Saturday in the ceremonial start in Anchorage. He'll leave about 3:40 p.m. Sunday when the race takes off for real at Willow. Feb. 28, AnchorageJeff and the other mushers in this year's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race will sit down to a nice banquet Thursday night in Anchorage. They'll also draw the numbers for their bibs. The bib number signifies the musher's starting position as the teams leave at two-minute intervals. A low number is desirable because a musher wants to be on the trail before it's torn up by the better share of 6,000 paws, 200 runners and 100 sled brakes. The ceremonial start of the race -- it's a parade through Anchorage -- is at 10 a.m. Saturday. The real race -- known as the restart -- begins at 2 p.m. Sunday in Willow, north of Anchorge. |
Clarence and Tears are leading the team, followed by these pairs: Skeeto and Redline (photo), Charlie and Green Pea, Cookie and Colt, Chinook and Bandit, Dipper and U2, Eddie and Biner (short for Carabiner), and wheel dogs Slick and Cannon.
As race time approached, Jeff had only a few remaining things to pack into his sled -- thawed meat for the dogs' evening meal, a sleeping bag, an official diary in which he is to record descriptions of his dogs' health and a zip-top bag of homemade cookies.
Redline and Greenpea will be Jeff's lead pair of huskies as the team leaves Willow Lake around 4 p.m.
Jeff and his dogs had a splendid 11-mile run from downtown Anchorage to the Campbell Airstrip. After he pulled through the finish chute, he tied up the dogs to his trailer and axed up a frozen salmon to give them a treat.